I always bring these caramel bars as a dessert to potluck parties and they have always been a hit! Just the rights sweetness, soft, and nutty – best paired with coffee or tea!
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Let your cravings lead the way. This phrase holds true for this recipe. I’ve been craving for Max’s caramel bars, and as the nearest Max’s restaurant is a 30-minute drive from where I live, I thought I should be able to replicate these bars from my own kitchen. My version is equally good, easy, and cheaper to make!
These caremel bars are made from simple ingredients – flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, and cashew nuts. I prefer to use light brown sugar over dark primarily because of the nice, golden brown color it gives, but if you don’t have one then dark brown sugar is okay.
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Here’s What You’ll Need
TOOLS & EQUIPMENT:
- 9 x 13-inch baking pan
- Parchment Paper
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- spatula
- saucepan
INGREDIENTS:
- 156 grams (1 1/4 cup) bleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter
- 250 grams (1 3/4 cup) light brown sugar
- 3 pieces large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts, chopped
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How to Make Caramel Bars Step-by-Step
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Temper the eggs by adding about ⅓ of the butter mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly (to avoid cooking the eggs).
When they are mixed, return the eggs back in the saucepan (that is still over low heat) with the remaining butter mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Be careful not to overmix or the bars will be tough. Turn off the heat.
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Caramel Bars
Ingredients
- 156 grams (1 1/4 cup) bleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter
- 250 grams (1 3/4) cup light brown sugar
- 3 pieces large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cashew nuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/ 180C. Line the bottom of an 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.156 grams (1 1/4 cup) bleached all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt
- In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract. Set aside.3 pieces large eggs1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and mix until combined. (Do not turn off the heat yet.)227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter250 grams (1 3/4) cup light brown sugar
- Temper the eggs (Note 1) by adding about ⅓ of the butter mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly (to avoid cooking the eggs). When they are mixed, return the eggs back to the saucepan with the remaining butter mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk.
- Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined. Be careful not to overmix or the bars will be tough. Turn off the heat. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the pan by gently spreading the batter to the sides using a spatula.
- Sprinkle top with chopped cashew nuts. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick/ cake tester inserted into the centre of the bar comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting them.1/2 cup cashew nuts
This is a lovely recipe! Further, I want to commend your site design here – noting the measurements required when an ingredient is mentioned is so useful, it’s incredibly annoying when it’s left out so you have to scroll up to the ingredients list every two seconds!
Thanks for the recipe.
Karuna, thank you for sharing your feedback! I am thrilled you love these caramels bars and the site design useful. 🙂
I don’t recommended this recipe and lack of ingredients. it came out the cakey! it’s supposed to be moist, chewy. Don’t recommended!
Thanks for sharing! Outcome was good but my final product didn’t come close to Max’s.
Thank you for sharing your feedback! =)
i tried it tho i didn’t temper the eggs bcos i just found the notes when i’m done baking it, mine came out like a cake 🙁
Hi, is this supposed to be cakey or kind of fudgy/chewy? I tried it but mine was cakey
Hi! It is on the cakey side.
I suggest having the eggs at a room temperature because it helps preventing the eggs from scrambling. Also turning off the heat to the sugar and butter mixture before adding the eggs to the mixture. I don’t want to sound rude but I do think you could have been more specific in your instructions, especially for the non-bakers.
She didn’t say in the recipe to add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture it’s the other way around and was very specific on how to do it so the eggs don’t get scrambled.
Hi this recipe is so good! Do you have a video of it?
Than you, Sarrah! Hopefully I’ll be able to do videos soon!
Hi! Can I bake this using 2 6 inch or 8 inch round pans? Can I also fold in toasted cashews in the batter? Thank you!
Yes, you can add toasted cashews into the batter if you like.
I have not tried baking this in a 6 or 8-inch pan but I think it would work. Try filling the pan up to half-full only as they rise quite a bit. You may also need to adjust the baking time – it’s done when a toothpick/ cake tester inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Good luck!=)
Hello Trish,
Will there be a huge difference if I use a margarine instead of butter?
Thanks,
Bea
Sorry, I haven’t tried using margarine for this recipe. I would love to know in case you will try!
Thanks for the recipe. I just tried this and it was a hit. ? But I wanted it to be more moist, what ingredient will i need to increase?
Thanks for sharing your feedback! =) Sugar adds moisture but I’m afraid it might be too sweet if you add more. Also, two of the common reasons baked goods are on the drier side are they’re either overbaked or there’s too much flour. If you measured your flour by cups, try measuring by weight next time.
Hi. Can i just use the ordinary all purpose flour instead of bleached flour?
Yes, you can!
Thank you for sharing recipes! it was a great help to us..
Thanks, Michelle. 🙂 So glad to know that!
Hi! My batter ended up really oily. The butter and the sugar didn’t mix well. I did use low heat while mixing continuously. What did I do wrong? I have yet to bake the product and I’m alreadt worried about the outcome.
Hi, Aivee. I’m sorry your batter didn’t end up well. There could be many reasons: the butter, sugar, or flour may not have been measured correctly; or the sugar and melted butter needed more mixing. By the time you add the flour, the batter should be on the thicker side (as shown in the step by step photos) but not oily.
“Really enjoyed this blog post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.”
Thank you! =)
Where do you use the milk?
Milk is not needed in the recipe. When I added the “Here’s What You’ll Need” section, I must have mistakenly copied it there. I have updated it – Thanks for pointing that out!
The recipe card and step by step instructions are showing the correct list and amount of ingredients.
Hi! Is milk needed in the recipe?
Milk is not needed – sorry for the confusion! The printable recipe is correct. I have updated the ‘Here’s What You Need’ section to be the same with the printable recipe.
Hi! I used bleached flour but it still came out dark brown on top and brown inside like your unbleached photo. Any suggestions to what else I might’ve done wrong?? Could it be from the brown sugar??
Hi, Tiff! Yes, the color of the brown sugar definitely affects the color of your finished product. I tried this using light brown, brilliant yellow, and dark brown sugar and they all taste the same to me; they just slightly differ in color. I find that the light brown sugar yields the nicest golden brown color. Hope this helps. 🙂
Hi! When I return the eggs in the saucepan is it still on medium heat?
Hi, Monique! When you return the egg mixture back into the saucepan it should still be in low heat. Turn off the heat on step 5, after adding the flour. Hope this helps!
Better than Max’s! 😀 Good Job Trish!